The exhibition Willy Spiller – Street Life NY/LA 1977–1985 will open at the Bildhalle für zeitgenössische Fotografie in Zürich on December 7. The presentation will be on display there up until January 27, 2018.

The Swiss photographer Willy Spiller lived in New York and Los Angeles between 1977 and 1985. Fascinated by the tempo, energy and absurdity of the seventies and eighties, he roamed the streets far and wide with his camera. Whether commuters on the New York underground, dancers at the legendary Studio 54, hip-hop culture on the streets of New York, or high society pool life in LA,
Spiller captured the many facets of a bygone, dazzling world in images as varied, fascinating and absurd as that world itself had been.

In the process, he combined a curiosity for his fellow human beings with a deep understanding of the beauty of everyday life and world around him. It is this that ensures his place in the annals of great Swiss photography. Like many of the well-known names before him, he managed to translate empathy into form through strength of will.